OKA wrote:

The picture looks softer and more plasma like, but it might be related to the sharpness setting.

That's good to hear as that was my impression from watching the new 100Hz BV8-40, which must use the same panel. That looked more BV9-like (smoother) than the normal over-the-top sharpness of my current BV7-40 MKIII.

From your Blu-ray tests, were you able to determine the audio formats supported? We can't figure if DTS HD is supported or not?

I mounted up the new Bv7 in the shop today and see no direct difference to the MKIII when we pulled a Planet Earth Blu-Ray 24Hz scene on both!? A little brighter, however. (You only use the 100Hz interpolation when watching 50Hz TV and DVD, and not on Blu-ray)

It says also Dolby True HD on the back of the chassie, but according to BeoCare the True HD signal are about to be downscaled to 5.1 because the hardware are not capable of handle True HD today! (No DTS HD moxxey)

Another disturbing detail is that now there are only 2 HDMI inputs left when the Blu-Ray and the DVB-T/C HD module takes up two slots! And no promised AST audio can i find either! Otherwise, not much improvement vs the MKIII! PS slow Blu-Ray and poor blackness!  I hope the BV10 with Edge LED will be the *** to own!

Regards!

One thing I would like to know is the ability of the Blu-Ray player to play MP3, JPEG and DivX files ( including HD DivX) on burned discs.  A real test would be more revealing than just reading the published specfications.

I plan to upgrade the player on my own BV-7 MK-III, but retaining that capability is very important. 

Thanks,

Jean

Beolab, thanks. If that's the case then dark days for B&O. They've advertised 4 x HDMI sockets so, I want want is advertised. Without 4 x HDMI sockets, in theory I'll be able to reject the TV due to it being 'not as advertised'. I will reject it, too!

As I've mentioned quite a bit, I've see the new BV8-40 and that did look like a slight step-up from the MKIII. I'm also cautious about the lack of 100Hz on Blu-ray as the Blu-rays I saw, compared to the MKIII that was in the store, looked more smooth. Movement and fast-panning was a lot more improved on the 100Hz BV8 panel.

One thing I'm not too worried about is the 'poor blacks'. The MKIII blacks are too intense. If you play dark (and there are lots of them!) PS3 games on the MKIII, you can't see what you're doing in many games. ie. the BV7-40 renders the gameplay too dark. Loads of friends point that out. Bit embarrassing.

We'll see what it's like when it arrives tomorrow. Are you sure that you're not trying to undersell it to youself on the basis you're not planning on upgrading? Funny how the person above, who received his, states he thinks it *is* an upgrade?

As far as I remember the MKIV specs posted earlier here in this forum it says id BluRay and DVB HD are mounted only two HDMI sockets are left.

From my point of view this is OK as two important HD sources are now build in and two extra HDMI sockets are not to bad. Four would be better without doubt.

tbh what else would you want to plug in if there's already a blu ray player , dvd w/ upscaler and a sky hd interface ?

2 extra hdmi's seems ok to me

sounds like an amazing bit of kit !!!

interesting post can you tell me what bluray player you used and is the sound better on the external bluray player

It seems only Interpolate at 50Hz signals, otherwise, it is 48Hz in the coustmer service menu just like MKIII when we run the Bu-Ray 24Hz ... Veiwing standard TV / DVD = A step up from the MKIII in movements, but the same bad contrast ...

It is a Samsung BD2500 internal blu-ray with BD Live 2.0, and i can´t see any diffrence btw the Sony s350 we use in the store... 

kawo wrote:

As far as I remember the MKIV specs posted earlier here in this forum it says id BluRay and DVB HD are mounted only two HDMI sockets are left.

Well, they need to be clear about that on their own site as it says 4 x HDMI sockets! I need 3, if possible. Mind you, I won't need the DVB HD module as I use a Sky HD external box.

I can't see why the Blu-ray drive can't just do what the PS3 does and pass the HD audio as PCM. No need to decode. Simply send as PCM and allow the BS3 to decode?

Beolab - in fairness, apart from a slightly smoother picture and better movement, I can't see how we can better the Blu-ray picture on the MKIV. For example, Dark Knight is absolutely staggeringly good on my MKIII. Apart from camera panning, I can't see how it can get any better than that. My expectations aren't too high - I'm simply hoping camera panning will be better.

As I've said, my dealer was running Casino Royale Blu-ray on both the MKIII and the BV8-40 and, although the picture was just about the same, the camera panning on the fast-moving intro was better on the 100Hz BV8. Definitely improved. It was noticable.